Adobe cloud questions

[Timppa]

Hi!

So as many of you know, the free way of uploading images in high quality will be gone with Google Cloud/Drive/photos.
I truly enjoyed this, because it goes automatically, and I can see all images on any device.

I started to think, could I use lightroom Classic for this instead? I am new to this lightroom cloud stuff!
I have a neatly organized structure on my computer for all my images (windows folders).
I would then put all these images in my Lightroom Classic Folder, and that so they would snyc to the cloud (So I can access it from Lightroom mobile).
But here are my questions:
Can I do this with Lightroom Classic, or will I need to use CC?
Do I have to make 'Collections' inside lightroom, or can it sync automatically from the 'Folders' section?
And does it sync in full size? Or is there a way to perhaps only sync a thumbnail or smaller size (so it looks nice on the phone, but zooming/editing is not needed, just simply showing the pic).

I have 20GB and I do not intend to buy more storage (Unless I feel forced to).

Thank you in advance!

 

[weepete]

I've not heard anything about this, what's changing?

 

[smoke665]

Google "Free Unlimited" is ending, June 1sr, but the standard 15GB is still there. If all you're doing is storing finished images there are other options out there. Flickr and MS One Drive are a couple that come to mind. Even better set up a personal cloud NAS drive, they aren't that expensive.

I would avoid Sync, its not what you think. I tried it and turned it off, after it bogged down my system to a crawl. First you have to understand how LR works with your image. When you import an image you aren't physically bringing that image into LR, you're bringing a set of instructions into the LR Catalog. The physical image file remains in its original location. LR doesnt care where that is as long as it knows the location. It uses the instructions in the Catalog to create a Smart Preview, that's what you view in the software when editing. When you turn on Sync it's that Smart Preview and ALL the editing instructions that apply to it that get uploaded to the cloud. Every time you change something it has to upload it again. https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/sync-faq.html#:~:text=To sync Lightroom Classic photos,desktop, mobile, and web.

 

[adamhiram]

The Adobe Creative Cloud photography bundle includes 1TB of online storage, so as long as that is enough you can certainly use that. However I would caution that if you don't use the mobile apps, cloud sync can be a little slow and often prevents you from closing the application while it is syncing. It is also not free, which may be an issue if you ever decide to switch software. That being said, if you already pay for Adobe CC and want something built-in that automates your backups, it may be a good option.

 

[Timppa]

So, there is no possible way to just have a 'thumbnail or smaller size' image that is viewable across all platforms?

 

[smoke665]

So, there is no possible way to just have a 'thumbnail or smaller size' image that is viewable across all platforms?

What exactly is it you want to do with the shared images? If all you want to do is view the images across multiple devices then export them from LR as a JPEG then upload them to a file sharing site like Google Drive, One Drive, or Flickr. You can make those images any size you want in the export window. By selecting multiple images it can be a batch operation. In LR you have the ability to integrate with Flick, for drag and drop publishing, this is what I use.

Another option is LR Web Galleries. However for this to work you have to Sync which is why I haven't used it. If your catalog is small it wouldn't be as much problem,.

 

[PJM]

If what you want to do is SHOW other people your photos on your mobile device then Lightroom's sync feature should work ok for you. This is what I do. All of my raw photo storage and editing is done using Lightroom Classic on my desktop. Photos that I want to show people are then put into a collection (album on the mobile device). I then sync that collection to the cloud. As @smoke665 said Lightroom creates and puts smart previews of those photos on the cloud. The smart previews do not count against your 20GB of storage. These smart previews are then sync'd to my mobile devices and I can easily show them without further editing or sizing.

If you want to SHARE your photos with other people such that they can see them or download them on their device you are probably better of exporting as JPEG's and placing them on another service.

 

[Timppa]

Thanks for all your input!
I found out how it all works now

 

[jeffashman]

Flickr will allow you to store up to 1000 high quality images on the free version. For paid options, Google is still an option, I pay $20/year for 100GB, which is not bad as a backup option. I have an Amazon Prime account, and they store the full quality images at no extra charge, and then there is Microsoft OneDrive, which as an Office 365 subscriber, I have 1TB of cloud storage. Apple iCloud is $0.99/month for 50GB. So there are quite a few options out there. Eventually I will probably subscribe to Flickr Pro, but right now I haven't even uploaded half the allotment, so there is still a ways to go.